The jungle that covers the Yucatan Peninsula is dense as it is lushly filled with numerous trees as a wild forest. This jungle is not cultivated anymore but according to researches, the landscapes were highly and devotedly managed by the ancient Maya people prior to the collapse of their civilization. The wild forest that has been discovered is what the ancient Maya cities have turned into after thousands of years of being left to the intervention of nature.

The Untamed Gardens of the Jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula

All the plant and tree species that are present in the jungle of Yucatan are Maya civilization’s greenery that have gone untamed and the forest is not the landscape that was there prior to foreign invasion.

One evidence that pointed out that there was an ancient civilization that prospered in the jungle thousands of years ago is the fact that the ecosystem of the peninsula bears the indication that there was human manipulation. The plants are uniformly spread which is not the case if they evolved naturally. This observation only proves that the Mayans rigorously changed the jungle where they developed their civilizations. Most of the plants are species that were highly cultivated but have gone untamed after long years of being neglected.

After further investigations, it was found out that the most number of plants that are still present are those that are economically important. This means that the ancient people had really used up the land to provide them with food.

The Forest of the Yucatan Peninsula Today

The jungle is almost totally inaccessible except by going on a guided tour. There are roads that were built cris- crossing the region and main highways that run along the coasts.

Most of the inner parts of the jungle are uninhabited except for some hunters that still reside in small communities. These native villages are accessible by trail and there are even some with electricity.

Yucatan Peninsula as an Eco-Friendly Park

The Yucatan Peninsula is a rugged flat terrain and there are portions that have been turned into National Parks and commercial places like the Xel-Ha and the Xcaret parks that are both are located in the Quintana Roo state.

The Xel-Ha theme park was established in the 1980s and it has been managed by a private company since 1995. The main attraction of this park is the natural lagoon and inlet where hundreds of water species live in. The park boasts a turtle reserve and among the activities being offered includes swimming with the dolphins, snorkeling and scuba diving.

Xcaret means ‘little cove’ in Maya language and this park was founded by a millionaire developer who developed it into an intriguing educational and recreational project that is a first of its kind. The park covers 250 acres of land and an inlet. There is a museum that preserves the ancient people’s history and culture. There are also archaeological sites that are scattered around the flourishing landscaped grounds. There is also a wide area of space provided for activities such as swimming, snorkeling and horseback riding.

These parks and the rest of the National Parks around the Yucatan Peninsula provide today’s generation with places to learn about the ancient Maya civilization and to experience something that has long been hidden from the rest of the world.

The Mayan jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula is a dense tropical rainforest inhabited by the Mayans that was converted into Mexican villages of our modern times. The peninsula is a unique combination of cultural and ecological diversity.

Plan your visit to the Yucatan Peninsula and explore the National Parks and the amazing Mayan ruins. Read more about our Mexico adventure trips.

Among the many famous and well-visited archaeological sites is the famed Tikal Ruins of Petén in Guatemala. Tikal is not just popular but it is also very impressive as the largest and most probably the oldest of all the ruined cities of the Ancient Maya civilization.

The Mayas had a "musical scale" very different from the five Western notes, experts said. They analyzed 125 instruments, including flutes, ocarinas, trumpets, horns, ceramic, conch shells, an official source said. EFE, Mexico

"These artifacts emit musical sounds whose scale is not as the Western scale, that is, it has its own range, which experts have preliminarily defined as of Mayan type," the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said in a statement.

Judeo-Christian ideas of the apocalypse led to an easy interpretation of the Mayan vision of cosmic cycles and resulted in the alleged prophecies of the end of the world, reported the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

"When the Mayan writing began to be deciphered and was found that, among other things, meant the end of cycles, it became an easy interpretation from the perspective of the Western thought, linking this to an apocalyptic vision of the end of the world", say experts cited by INAH in a statement.

Some 50 pieces of pre-Hispanic Peru Waka city are displayed at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, located in zone 13. The exhibition is open until May 28th.

GUATEMALA CITY. - The pieces are an indicative of the artistic and cultural legacy of the Mayan civilization settled in Petén, and have been obtained by the activities of The Peru-Waka ' Project, thanks to the archaeologists who perform investigations and excavations since 2003 in that department.

José Roman Robertos Moguel has a degree in Anthropology with Specialization in Archeology from the School of Anthropology at the Autonomous University of Yucatan:

The question I asked was innocent and almost superficial, as if something was sensed but did not know exactly the importance of its intuition. The topic of discussion was another, different for me from the last question I had decided to ask, one last question and the resulting response, which intrigued me, subjugated me, and forced me to build further on the subject.

October can be described as one of the spookiest times of year. In most North Americans minds it brings about images of witches, pumpkins, and most of all candy. But south of the American border the time is celebrated in a much different manner. It’s called the Day of the Dead.

In Mexico the celebrations isn’t just one day, it last several. From October 28 to November 2nd. Many outsiders see the Day of the Dead as a strange embrace of death amongst an entire nation. In reality, it is a celebration of life, how precious it is, and how each life must eventually come to an end.

If you have a vacation to the Yucatan planned in the coming future, having an idea of what to do can be all the difference between fun and just wanting to be done. To get this plan together, you may want to have an idea of what are the best things to see or do in the Yucatan. By having an idea, you won’t be completely lost when you arrive and make everything go much smoother.

The Yucatan is the epicenter of the ancient Mayan world. It’s home to the biggest pyramid in the western hemisphere, El Castillo in Chichen Itza. If you find yourself in the Yucatan, you’ll thank yourself for making the trip to Chichen Itza.

Chichen Itza was the spiritual and social hub of the late Mayan World. It was the centerpiece of the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan Peninsula since the early 700’s. The city was the center of sacrifice for the area as well. The city owed that sacrificial reputation to an ancient Mayan and the mysterious cenotes in the area. A cenote is a natural well that reaches deep into the land, possibly connecting to other underground tunnels.

The Sacrificial Cenote wasn’t used for drinking, or cleaning, another set of cenotes and artificial wells were used for that. A Bishop in the mid 1500’s is the first to mention the sacrifices that occur at the ancient Sacrificial Cenote. The Bishop claimed that Chichen Itza had a huge chamber inside which they would herd thousands of slaves and citizens to be sacrificed at the cenotes.

If you plan on making a trip to Chichen Itza, then you’ll be sure to see many of the main attractions, such as the Great Ballcourt, El Castillo, and the Observatory. What you want to keep your eyes open for are the few little known ruins and sites that many pass up without notice. After all, the big things are easy to notice, it’s the little things that make their trip worth your wild.

The Red House is named this because of the flakes and scrapes of red paint that were found inside the structure. It was built on a high platform, and is pronounced Chichen Choob in the Mayan language. It is translated as "small holes" and most assume it points to the lime comb roof.